Pump tubing protector



Nov. 22, 1932.

' A. B. EDWARDS PUMPTUBING PROTECTOR Filed June 2", 1929 gwoemtoz s o m W E. U e w 6 Patented Nov. 22, 1932 ,UNITED STATES PATENT ori-iced A ALBERT B. EDWARDS, F LONG- BEAOH, CALIFORNIA, ASSIG'NOR OF ONE-HAL TOE.` C.

CULBERTSON, OF INGLEWOOD, CALFORNIA PUMP TUBrNG rnofrncronl'" Application led .Tune 226,

This invention has to do with iuid pumps of the type ordinarily used inpumping oil wells, and pertains moreV directly to a novel form of protector adapted to be usedfor the purpose of guarding the casing and the coupling collars of the pump tubing against wear during the pumping operation. Y

It has been my observation from experience in the operation of oil well pumps that there is a continual wear between'the tubing couplings and the well casing at the points in which these two members are in engagement. This wear may, in a small degree, be due to the continual vibration of the ltubing during the pumping operation, but the more pronounced and positive cause for this wear resides in the continual expansion and contraction of the tubing during the downward and upward strokes respectively of the plunger. This expansion and contraction of the tubing is due to the continual transfer of the weight of the oil in the tubing from the tubing to the sucker rods. On the down stroke of the plunger, the valve in the top of the plunger barrel is closed, and the valve in the plunger is open, so that the tubing itself must support the entire column of oil therein. During the up stroke of the plunger, the plunger valve is closed, the column of oil is being supported and raised by the sucker rods, and the tubing is relieved of the weight of the oil.

In a well havingseveral thousand feet of tubing, the weight of the column of oil therein is tremendous, and the tubing is subjected to a continual expansion and contraction amounting, some times, to several inches. So far as I am aware, this condition has never received consideration in the design and operation of iuid pumps, and it is the obviation of wear in the tubingand casing resulting from this condition that forms the premise forrmy invention.

It is to be understood, of course, that very few wells of appreciable depth are perfectly straight, and in viewk of the tortuous path which such wells follow, the tubing couplings are in engagement'with the casing at numer- 1929. serial No. 373,861. Vv

and, consequently, theover all strength of the tubing, but in several instances suchfwea'r has been known to occur in the casing-itself, resulting in thepenetration thereofand the consequent loss'gof the well. l

The device contemplated by my invention consists of a slidable .collar or ring, which is adapted to beA mounted upon the tubing in any suitable manner, and isofsuchexternal diameter as to vengage the casing, permitting the tubing to slide through the collar and l eliminating the` possibility of sliding engage- -ment between the tubing couplings yand. the

-of `that portion of the well surrounding the plunger barrel. 1 f` The first of thev above mentioned devices usually made of the same outside diameter U astheinteinal diameter ofthe tubing, and is v arranged-sorthat liquid will pass thereby,

and is adapted to reciprocate with the reciprocation of the sucker rod, and through such movement to remove deposits of wax or the like from the entire inner surface of the tubing.

The device contemplated by vmy invention isV necessarily not ofthe same outside diameter as the internal diameter of the casing,` but is of a diameter 'slightly greater thanv the over-all diameter of the tubing collars, so `as to prev-ent the engagement of the tubing collars with the casing.

The drill stem protectors mentioned above are ordinarily mounted upon fthe drill string in firm engagement therewith, and are made of some pliable or wearable material, so that the engagement of these members with the inner surface of the casing during the rota# inner surface in the collar which will have a lower frictional resistance than the outer surface, and in which the wear will incidentally be effected between the inner surface of the protecting collar. and fthe outer surface of thebearingv member. Thev difference inA frictional resistance between the innerl surface of the bearing vcollar and the outer surface thereof might also be obtained bypma'king the inner surface of less over-all are'aithanlthe outer surface.

In using` my invention in a crooked well, the bearing collars are pressed against the inner surface of the casing at various points j and are adapted to be held by such pressure Vin the same position within the casing. The

reciprocation of the tubing must therefore occury within the bearing' collar, thus making the only vsurface receiving wear that which lies between the inner surface of the collar vand the bearing section in the pump tubing.

The pump packers above referred to are, ofcourse, made of some pliable materiah'such as rubber, and are adapted to be forced either by hvdraulic means or through the medium 'ofi their own resilience into firm enga-gement Vwith the innersurfacerof the casing, and are vin no way adapted to prevent relative wear between fthe pump tubing and the casing.

` l It istherefore a primary object of my invention to produce a'protecting device adapted particularly for use in combination with pump tubing, which is constructed in a manner such that 'its inner surface receives all vofthe wear resultingfrom the relative movenient between the pump tubing. and the casing. Y y

Itis a further object of my invention to y. produce a device of the class described, which may be readily installed, removed, and the worn-parts replaced.

Further advantageous features in my in- 4, ventionand other objects contemplated thereby will be better understood Afrom the following Vdescription of theY accompanying drawing, which is chosen for illustrativepurposes only, and in which considered as having been taken through an Fig. Y1 is a sectional view, which may be Y oil Vwell having a pump tubingsuspended therein and a form of my invention mounted l "on the pump tubing.

.Fig 2 is an elevational view,partly in section, showing a preferred form of my inven-Y tion.

Fig. 3 is a plan section, which may be considered as having been taken substantially in the plane represented by the line in Fig. 2. f

Fig. 4 is an elevational view, partly in section, showing a modified form of my invention.

tion, showing what is `perhaps the simplest form of my invention, and

Fig. 5 is an elevational view, partly `in sec- Fig. Gis a plan section which may be cona Fig. 5. l n

More, particularly describing myy invention `sidered as having been taken substantiallyV in a plane represented bythe lined-(i in -l` as herein illustrated, reference numeral 11 indicates an oil well casing, the upper. end

of which is provided with av pumphead 12 through which a pump tubingV 13 extends.

The lower end of the pump tubing 13 is provided with a plunger barrel 14,1which may be of any well known coiistruction,;the plunger thereinbeing operated by means of a sucker rod which eXtends through the top of the head 12, as indicated: by reference numeral 15.

The pump tubing 13is ofV the usual construction, consisting of a plurality of tubing f.

sections 13a, which are connectedby means lof coupling collars 15.

Y li/Iounted between or upon the tubingse'c- -tions at convenient positions throughoutthe length of the tubing, I show a plurality .of 'tubingprotecting members, which are generally indica-ted in Fig. 1 by reference y.nuineral 18. These tubing protecting members consist essentially of a movable collar or ring 19, which is rotatably and reciprocablyv mounted upon a suitable bearing section,17..f It isto be understood that the bearing sec- 'tion 17 maybe made in various forms, and

the most: economical construction is to mount the tubing! collar v19 directly upon 'the oil well tubing. This construction has certain disadvantages,.in that a limited amount of wear may occur on the surface upon which the collar is mounted, and'for this reason I Aprefer to use specially constructed bea-ring? sections for the protecting` collars.

One form of this last mentioned construction is best illustrated in Fig. 2, as comprising a split sleeve 24, which is mounted directly upon the oil well tubing-at lany desiredY position andisheldin firm enga-gement therewith by means of end rings 25 which are in threaded engagement with the tapered threaded end portions 26 of the split sleeve 24.

.. Bytapering the end portions 26, it willbe understood thatV the advance of the clamp- Yfing rings '25 relative .thereto is effective to clamp the split sleeve 24 firmly upon the pump tubing. In assembling this form of 1 my invention, the protecting collar 19a is slid iso Y upon the protecting sleeve 24 before one or both of the clamping rings has been placed thereon, and the sleeve 24 made of sufficient length to permit the longitudinal movement of the pump tubing in the collar 19a' during the pumping operation.

It will. be noted from Fig. 2 that the inner surface of the ring 19 is provided with bearing material, such as Babbitt metal, as Vindicated by reference numeral 27, the object being to make this material of such a character that it is worn away during the pumping operation and can be readily replaced after the tubing has been withdrawn from the well.

It will also be noted that the overall diameter of the collar19a is appreciably greater than the diameter of the tubing collar 16a.

In Fig. 4 I show another form of my invention, in which the protecting collar 19?), instead of being mounted upon a sleeve carried by the pump tubing, is mounted upon a specially constructed coupling or collar section 30, which is adapted to be interposed between adjacent ends of cooperating tubing sections. f

The two end portions of the coupling section 8O are enlarged, as indicated at 31, and the main portion 32 of the collar 196 may be made of sufficient internal diameter to pass over the enlarged portions 31 of the coupling member.

In assembling a device of this character, the bearing metal indicated by reference numeral 33 may be poured into the protecting ring or collar after it has been placed upon the coupling, or the collar with the bearing surface therein may be split and welded onto the coupling. It is entirely possible, Yof

. course, to place a threaded joint between one of the end portions 31 and the main bearing portion 30 of the coupling member, or to provide. one endof the coupling with a female threaded sub adapted to receive a tubing connecting collar.

In Fig. 5 I show the simplest form of my invention, -in which the collar member 19e is provided with an inner bearing portion 27o and is mounted directly upon the tubing section 130.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that my invention embodies a protecting device of simple form and construction adapted especially for use in connection with pump tubing, which may be easily installed and in which the worn parts may be readily replaced.

It is to be understood that, while I have herein described and illustrated a preferred form of my invention and indicated various modifications thereof, the invention is not limited to the precise construction set forth above, but includes within its scope whatever changes fairly come within the spirit of the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

A tubing protector comprising a,v split sleeve having taper threaded end portions, threaded rings adapted to engage'said end portions for clamping said sleeve upon a tubing section, and a collar member slidably mounted on said sleeve between said clamping rings, said collar member having a bearing surface of Wearable material formed therein.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles, California, this 11 day of June, 1929. i

ALBERT B. EDWARDS. 

